


Secret Santa

by Tarlan



Category: Eureka
Genre: Christmas, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-24
Updated: 2015-12-24
Packaged: 2018-05-09 02:32:56
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,276
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5522195
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tarlan/pseuds/Tarlan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Global Dynamics is holding a Secret Santa but as the Director, Nathan was not invited to take part.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Secret Santa

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MonkeyMel](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MonkeyMel/gifts).



> This is for **MonkeyMel**. Happy Holidays!

Despite Carter's attempt to see the worst in him on all occasions, Nathan was actually very fond of Christmas as a holiday. He let the staff decorate offices as long as it didn't interfere with their work, and even had a decent-sized tree placed in the atrium and decorated in sparkling lights and tinsel - Eureka style of course. A few days later he noticed the growing pile of brightly packaged gifts placed beneath it and, at first, he thought it was simply more decoration, until he spotted one of the laboratory assistants from Section 3 adding to the pile.

Curious, he waited until later that evening to check it out, surprised to see different name tags on each of the gifts. Some of the tags had been printed and others were in different handwriting styles - short and blocky, large and curly, some plain, some ornate. Deciding against stooping to sift through the whole pile, he studied the names he could see, recognizing all of them from reading through personnel files since he took over as head of Global. Silently he prided himself on his innate ability to recall the names, though admittedly he would have preferred to have an eidetic memory. Still, his mind was a fine tuned instrument compared to most of the people in this town - and one person in particular.

He smirked to himself.

The giver's name was missing on each gift so he guessed this was one of those Secret Santa exchanges. No one had mentioned it to him but then he could readily understand his exclusion. After all, who would want the responsibility of trying to find a gift for the Director of Global Dynamics?

By the following afternoon the pile of gifts had grown higher. Nathan stood by his large office window, watching through the heavily tinted glass as various employees sidled towards the tree and quickly dropped off a gift before scurrying away. He shrugged, about to turn away when he saw Carter enter holding something hidden behind his back. Intrigued, but realizing Carter might spot him, he took a few steps back, knowing the tinted glass would hide him. Carter tried to look nonchalant as he passed the tree slowly, glancing up towards Nathan's office and then around as if checking no one was paying him any attention before casually dropping a garishly wrapped, small, square package onto the pile. He moved off quickly leaving Nathan feeling a little vexed because his mild interrogation of Fargo revealed it was a Global employees only exchange and, as Carter was fond of reminding him at any opportunity, the Sheriff didn't work for him.

After everyone left for the evening, Nathan felt compelled to satisfy his curiosity, heading straight to where Carter had dropped off his anonymous gift. Although it was most definitely against the Christmas Spirit, if Carter was using this occasion to send gifts to Allie then Nathan was going to make sure she never got it. He spotted the garish paper covering an inexpertly wrapped gift and snatched it up, ignoring the slight pang of guilt, recognizing Carter's scrawl immediately from the reports that crossed his desk, but the name on the gift wasn't Allie's.

It was his name. Nathan Stark.

Utterly confused, he was tempted to tear off the wrapper to check the contents, fingers sliding under an unsealed edge of the paper before withdrawing. It had to be a joke gift, something meant to annoy him or make him look foolish because... well, it was from Carter, his arch-rival for Allison's affections. He mulled over that thought because he had never intended to regain her affections when he returned to Eureka. The position as Head of Global Dynamics was one he had coveted for years. The thought of her with Carter had pushed all his possessive Alpha buttons, though sometimes he wasn't sure whether he wanted Allison or simply didn't want to see her with Carter.

"You know you have to wait until Christmas before you can open that."

Nathan startled on hearing the familiar voice right behind him.

"Definitely need to put a bell on you," he muttered as he turned round to face Carter.

"You wish," Carter stated, but his eyes were glinting with a mix of annoyance and amusement.

"So. You bought me a gift, Sheriff."

"I knew I should have printed the label-"

"And asked your aesthete and far more dexterous daughter to wrap it," Nathan added archly.

Carter looked suitably confused even after Nathan gently shook the badly wrapped gift to try to convey his meaning. At least Carter did figure he was being mocked judging by the way his confusion gave way to even greater annoyance.

"Then maybe I should take it back," he replied.

He made to snatch it from Nathan's hand but Nathan was slightly quicker and taller, pulling it high out of Carter's reach.

"Real childish, Nathan," he stated, sounding like a sullen teenager when he realized the height advantage meant he couldn't get to the gift without resorting to a tussle.

"Why are you here this late, Sheriff?"

Carter shrugged but his eyes unintentionally swept up Nathan's arm, expression taking on a worried look, and Nathan wondered if he had come because he'd had second thoughts about giving this gift.

"Just out on patrol.... Sheriffing."

Nathan held back a smile with difficulty as he lowered his arm. "You do know that isn't a real word?"

"It's a live language," he replied blandly.

Nathan figured he meant 'a living language' but decided not to taunt him any further. Instead, he put the gift back under the tree, pushing it all the way towards the back where it could not be reached easily. If the gift was a joke that was now making Carter feel guilty then Nathan could use that to his advantage in a few days time.

And if it isn't a joke gift?

His inner voice mocked him, making him aware there was something different about this particular encounter with Carter; more banter and teasing, and less belligerence. He watched Carter give up and leave, allowing himself the luxury of actually appreciating the view for once because he wasn't adverse to looking at a good looking guy, and he'd seen the gorgeous body hidden beneath the ugly Sheriff's uniform.

****

Christmas Eve was filled with people bustling around, trying to clear away experiments or at least make them safe for this one week a year when most of Global closed down its laboratories. A few scientists would rather carry on working but Nathan had learned the hard way that it was better to close down the building if he wanted a quiet Christmas and New Year celebration. And it would be quiet this year as Allison had made it painfully obvious that she planned to spend it without him. She had already headed out of town to stay with her parents, taking Kevin with her. 

Nathan had signed off on those experiments that could continue through tomorrow, and he had the headache to show for all the arguments he'd had with others who hadn't made the list.

In the atrium below, several people from the Human Resources department had sorted the gifts into piles. The number of employees dwindled as the day progressed, with most heading home to be with family or friends for the holidays, and now only one of the HR people remained behind. Nathan stopped working every now and then to watch Goodall pick up a gift from one of the rapidly shrinking piles under the tree and hand it to its labeled recipient. Eventually Nathan could see just a few gifts remaining, including the garish one that Carter had left for him, strangely pleased Carter hadn't sneaked back in to take it back.

"Fargo!" Fargo arrived moments later. "I want Security to round up the stragglers and see them out. Now," he added for good measure. "I'm heading home and I don't want to be disturbed until after the New Year."

He closed down his computer, and picked up his tablet and coat before striding out, stopping in front of Goodall. She looked a little startled and guilty until he pointed nonchalantly towards the gaudily wrapped gift. She blinked in surprise when she picked it up and saw his name written in the appallingly childish scrawl that Carter called handwriting.

"Merry Christmas," she stated softly, and then blushed when he smiled and wished her the same.

When he reached his car he climbed in and placed the gift on the passenger seat next to him, staring at it hard as he tried to imagine what could fit inside the small, square box-shaped gift. He wondered if he should open it now. Deep in thought, the tapping on his window startled him but he recovered quickly, rolling his eyes when he saw Carter standing beside his driver's door. Nathan pressed a button to roll down the driver's side window.

"To what do I owe this pleasure, Sheriff."

"I was... Eh. I was... wondering-if-you-had-any-plans-for-the-rest-of-the-night." He blurted out, then paused for a moment, parsing his own words when Nathan raised an eyebrow. "Evening. For dinner!"

Before he left Eureka to visit an old colleague, Henry had not-so-casually mentioned Carter would be alone this Christmas, with Zoe spending the holiday in L.A. with her mother. At the time Nathan had felt rather gleeful to learn he wouldn't be the only person spending the day alone, especially as this other person was Carter, even though it had seemed mean spirited at the time. Now he was intrigued by the thought of spending even a few hours alone with Carter.

Dinner went surprisingly well despite Vincent's refusal to serve Carter his usual order of hamburger and fries on Christmas Eve. Instead he insisted on educating Carter's taste buds for one meal, serving him the Winter Holiday special. As Nathan had ordered the same, Carter couldn't really argue, and although he stated it _wasn't bad_ , Nathan could tell he had actually enjoyed the meal. Vincent gave Carter a smug, satisfied grin despite the scant praise.

They left the cafe together but Nathan found himself strangely reluctant to part company. He watched as Carter scratched the back of his head, obviously fighting an inner battle.

"Did you want to come by the bunker for a... beer or-or a coffee?" he asked finally.

"No," Nathan replied honestly, and Carter straightened a fraction, trying but failing to hide his disappointment. "But you could follow me to my house for a... nightcap."

Carter tilted his head questioningly. "Is this about SARAH?"

Nathan smiled ruefully. "SARAH can be a little..."

"Nosy?"

Nathan gave a nonchalant shrug as that described her well enough. Whatever he was feeling towards Carter, and however this evening progressed from this moment onwards, he really didn't want to have the A.I. offering unsolicited advice. Nathan had already decided he was not averse to moving beyond a drink to something far more intimate with Carter, which surprised him considering their history, and he had a strong feeling the desire was reciprocated.

****

**Christmas Morning**

Nathan hadn't felt this much at peace within himself in a long time. His relationship with Allison had been volatile from the beginning, though with more bad days than good towards the end. They were too much alike. Both ambitious and competitive. He had never truly relaxed in her presence, but as he sat on the chair in his master bedroom, sipping coffee, he felt amazingly peaceful this day.

Sprawled across the bed in front of him was Jack, naked except for the tangle of sheets covering just one side of him from ankle to hip. He was lying on his back, breathing softly, and occasionally scrunching his nose as he dreamed. It was almost endearing. Nathan allowed the memories from last night to resurface, recalling the awkwardness of that first touch, which quickly smoothed into firm caresses and possessive kisses. He remembered the soft cry as Jack came, and the hitch in his throat when Nathan took advantage of his sated, boneless state to press inside, too close himself to last long, and it had felt so good.

The aroma of coffee slowly brought Jack awake and he blinked sleepily across at Nathan.

"Coffee?"

Nathan put down his emptied mug and pointed towards the full mug placed on the cabinet beside Jack, smiling as the coffee worked its magic on Jack. But it was the garishly covered gift Nathan now held in his hands that brought Jack fully awake and looking nervous. If it was a gift meant to embarrass or belittle him then Nathan had already decided it was no longer of great importance. Not after the night they had shared, but he gave Jack a chance to take the gift from his hands anyway.

Instead Jack put down his coffee and watched cautiously as Nathan peeled aside the paper and opened the small box, drawing out a crystal that had been laser-etched with an image of the Andromeda galaxy. It glowed in Nathan's hand, and it was stunning. Nathan looked up in silence to see Jack looking at him worriedly.

"Thank you," Nathan stated softly. "It's beautiful."

He placed the crystal on the bedside cabinet where it continued to glow even as he reached for Jack.

"Merry Christmas," Jack murmured against his lips, and Nathan kissed him deeply before drawing back to murmur the same words in return.

Many years later the crystal still glowed from the warmth of his hands, and his lips still tingled from Jack's kiss as they continued with a tradition they'd started on that first Christmas together.

END  
 


End file.
